In light of the recent mass exodus of teachers from Jamaica’s education sector, many institutions are now bracing for the immense pressure they are likely to face in the new academic year, commencing September 5. In a recent interview with the Caribbean National Weekly, several educators who spoke on the condition of anonymity expressed their views on the current crisis. While many support the recent movement by their colleagues, several schools are left in shambles to fill vacancies.
A high school science teacher from St. Catherine said she is one of many teachers who have decided to resign, which has left her institution in disarray to fill vacancies in time for the new academic year.
“I am unsure about how prepared the school is [for the upcoming academic year] because I am one of the teachers who won’t be going back to that institution. I can say, however, that it has left the administration in a difficult position. The time frame to mend the gap in the numbers created is very short which leaves very little room for them to ‘pick, choose and refuse applicants,” she said.
She complained that unfavorable working conditions and rising demands in the education sector are two contributing factors to the mass migration, noting that many educators like herself are now seeking less burdensome and more rewarding paths.
“Working conditions are simply unfavorable. With the increasing demands, persons are seeking paths that are a little easier on them physically, mentally, socially, and financially,” she said.
She further revealed that a large number of resignations from her former school are due to several factors, primarily to seek better opportunities abroad.
“There have been around 20 resignations from my school over the summer holidays. These same teachers are going abroad, some have already been settled in for the academic year starting in their new country and others have simply resigned to move to other schools or change professions. This has been a long time coming in my view,” she shared.
Likewise, another teacher who serves at a private institution in St. Catherine noted that her colleagues and other educators islandwide have sought better opportunities elsewhere, due to unfavorable working conditions in the Jamaican education sector.
“Teachers have gone to seek better opportunities. The Jamaican school system runs on an unrealistic ideal of how teachers are to operate. We’re not being paid enough, lack of respect, resources and to be honest students don’t care now more than ever,” she complained.
She stated that the mass migration has left a void at her institution, which could potentially put current teachers under enormous strain for the new school year.
“My institution, like others, is having a problem filling vacant positions. Therefore, those teachers who have remained will be faced with increased responsibilities. I pray we do not fall from the immense pressure,” she said.
In light of dissatisfaction expressed by teachers, a high school educator from St. Elizabeth said he supports the move of his colleagues, as high-quality opportunities must be provided to teachers locally to prevent teacher brain drain.
“I celebrate with my colleagues who have found better opportunities outside of the island although I choose to remain. The recent spike in teacher migration is a clear reflection of the unsatisfactory working conditions and meager compensation that teachers endure,” he said.
He added that until changes are made to the country’s education system, there will be an increase in teacher migration. “Until the root cause is treated, which is poor treatment of invaluable human resources, then teacher migration will increase proportionally.”
His institution is managing the effects of the crisis in preparation for school resumption; however, he noted that the school has lost some of its best teachers.
“My institution like many others is affected by migration but in our case, it is a manageable setback because the number is comparatively small. This is not to say that losing some of our brightest minds and filling their posts brings complete solvency,” he said.
Meanwhile, a principal of a primary school in St. Catherine expressed mixed feelings about the mass migration, stating that people will always go where there are greener pastures. “It’s not so much of a support (of the mass migration), it’s so much of saying there are persons who always believe there are greater opportunities elsewhere,” she noted.
She revealed that some of the teachers who have accepted job opportunities overseas are yet to submit formal resignations. “My understanding is that five persons showed interest in leaving and these are the five persons who are saying that they’re leaving but only two have given a formal resignation. What I’m hearing from their colleagues though is that wherever they are (overseas), school has started, so the remaining three want to see what it is like before they send in their resignation letters since schools [overseas] would have resumed before schools in Jamaica,” she disclosed.
While the country’s education sector is facing myriad challenges, she strongly believes her institution can combat them and is therefore prepared for the resumption of schools.
“Come Monday (September 5), we will have teachers to fill those vacancies because we were a junior high school, and now we are a primary school. We would not have to employ anyone. We still have teachers, so all we have to do now is to redeploy teachers in the best way possible so that all groups of students have a teacher,” she said confidently.
